2025 Student Contests: Take a deep dive into American history—and win cash prizes

Posted by Gilder Lehrman Staff on

This spring, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is pleased to offer a series of contests for students in grades 3 through 12. All contests are free to enter, provide cash prizes for the winners, and allow students the opportunity to explore a particular topic, theme, or individual from American history. 

Learn more about each contest below, and please email education@gilderlehrman.org if you have any questions!

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Jeff Forret Wins 18th Annual Frederick Douglass Book Prize

Congratulations to Lamar University history professor Jeff Forret, who has been selected as the winner of the 2016 Frederick Douglass Book Prize for his book Slave Against Slave: Plantation Violence in the Old South (Louisiana State University Press). Forret’s book explores the physical conflicts between enslaved people in the American South prior to the Civil War.
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Richard Henry Lee Meets John Adams: On This Day, 1775

On November 14, 1775, Richard Henry Lee, a Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, visited fellow delegate John Adams, and the two held a fruitful discussion on “what fo
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Congratulations to the Winners of the Military Monuments Student Photography Contest

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On This Day: Stock Market Crash, 1929

On October 24, 1929, the stock market experienced its first major crisis in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, eventually leading to the Great
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Columbus Reaches the Americas: On This Day, 1492

On October 12, 1492, after a two-month voyage, Christopher Columbus landed on an island in the Bahamas he called San Salvador—though the people of the island called it Guanahani. From there, Columbus and his men traveled around the Caribbean for five months, taking particular interest in the islands of Juana (now Cuba) and Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti).
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Proclamation of 1763: On This Day, October 7, 1763

On October 7, 1763, King George III issued a Proclamation that would cause much resentment among American colonists.
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Recent Press Mentions

Graduation Ceremony Held for the Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History

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On Saturday, July 15, Gettysburg College celebrated the achievements of graduates of the Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History.
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International Press for GLI's Spanish-American Curriculum Partnership with the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute

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The Sentinel Interviews Kevin Weddle on Winning the Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History

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"In today’s 5 Questions, The Sentinel gave Weddle the opportunity to delve deeper into the research and findings of his book that recently earned him the Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History."
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